Switch-operating mechanism.



R. BROWN. SWITCH OPERATING MBGHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 25,1906.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

n45 NORRIS PETERS co., wAsruNcroN. c. c.

ROBERT BROWN, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND.

SWITCH-OPERATIN G ME CHANISM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17, 1908.

Application filed July 25, 1906. Serial No. 327,716.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT BROWN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Westminster, in the county of London, England,have invented certain new and useful Switch-Operating Mechanism, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electric street railway equipment and has to do more particularly with improved means adapted to be carried by the vehicle for collecting current used thereby.

The invention relates more particularly to that class of railway equipment wherein the current supply terminals are located above the street surface in contra distinction to that class of equipment known as the closed conduit type wherein the supply terminals are located in a conduit.

The operation of this invention involves the use of well known types of surface terminals located either between the rails or outside thereof and shoes carried by the vehicle and adapted to engage said terminal to convey the current to the motor of the vehicle.

The invention further involves the use of switching devices located in a closed conduit and adapted to close circuit between the surface terminals and suitable current supply wires and the novel feature of the invention consists in providing the vehicle with an improved form of switch actuating device adapted to project and travel in such conduit and operate the switches therein to close circuit between the supply wires and the surface terminals during the passage of the vehicle thereby said switches being preferably normally and automatically held in an open position.

The closed conduit feature of this invention does not relate to the supply terminals and current collectors cooperating therewith but to the switching and switch operating means whereby current is closed and there fore the invention does not come within the scope of or in other words the class of apparatus known as closed conduit systems.

The invention will be more fully described in connection with the accompanying drawing and will be more fully and particularly pointed out and ascertained in and by the appended claims.

In the drawings :--Figure 1 is a side elevation of the device of my invention as applied to a double truck railway vehicle. Fig. 2 is a sectional view on line a-a of Fig.

1. Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line b?) of Fig. 1. Fig. at is a side elevation of a modified form of the invention as applied to a single truck type of railway vehicle.

Like numerals of reference designate similar parts throughout the different figures of the drawing.

As shown and with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 inclusive 1 and 2 designate the double trucks of the railway vehicle provided with wheels adapted to run upon rails in the usual manner. 14: designates supply terminals located between the rails and adapted to project above the street surface in a manner to be engaged by suitable current collectors in the form of shoes carried by the vehicle. The terminals 14 may be in the form of blocks spaced apart from each other or if desired continuous strips may be used the adjacent ends of which may be suitably insulated from each other in a manner to provide unitary supply sections electrically disconnected. Suitable collectors in the form of shoes 16 may be supported in any desirable manner from the vehicle so as to project into and wipingly engage the supply terminals l l. The shoes will of course desirably be relatively short but may if desired be of suflicient length to engage two or more supply sections simultaneously so long as the latter are maintained electrically distinct from each other.

The terminals 14 are connected with a source of supply and there is interposed between the source of supply and said terminals suitable switches adapted normally to open circuit between the source of supply and said terminals, the device of the invention serving to operate said switches to close circuit at predetermined times. This arrangement is diagrammatically shown in Figs. 2 and 3 wherein 18 designates a surface wire connecting the supply terminal 14 with one of the switch terminals 19. The switch terminal 20 is connected with a source of supply through wire 21. A switch 15 is shown provided with a contact 22 adapted to engage said terminals 19 and 20 to close circuit between the source of current supply and the terminals 14 through wires 21 and 1S and contacts 19 and 20. A spring 28 serves to normally hold said switch 15 in an open position and permits the same to be closed at predetermined times as will be hereinafter fully described.

As shown a conduit 24 is provided and its inner lateral wall is formed by one of the rails while its outer wall is formed by a channel 25 this construction being merely shown as a convenient method of illustrating the conduit, which forms no feature of the invention. I conveniently mount the switches in said channel 25 the former being slidably mounted in apertures formed therein and the springs 23 being interposed between the channels and pins 26 mounted in duit 24: and engage andthrow the switches 15 into a closedrposition. Said end sections 3are secured to the trucks 1 and 2 in a manner to permit movement of said sections about .ahorizontal .axis and this mounting as shown comprises ,a bracket '9 rigidly secured to the trucks in any desirable manner land provided with depending lugs 28. A

pivot rod 8 is secured at its ends in said lugs and supports extensions 7 of the sections 3 as will be seen by reference to Fig. 1.

In order to permit of slight longitudinal play of the actuating device the lugs 28 are spaced apart from each other .a relatively considerable distance and springs 10 are interposedbetween the extensions 7 and the lugs 28 this form of mounting affording all necessary lateral and longitudinal movement of the actuating device.

In order to permit theactuating device to operate in the conduit when the vehicle is traversing a curved portion of the track the end and intermediate sections 3 and 3 are articulated at 29 and. intermediate supports for the sections are preferably provided and are connected with said sections at 29. Sald intermediate supports comprise vertically disposed supporting bars 5 provided with lateral extensions 11 and 12 which are slidably mounted in brackets 13 secured in any desirable manner to the trucks 1 and 2 and serve to permit intermediate portions of the actuating device to assume and work freely in curved portions of the conduit.

It will be seen from the foregomg that the actuating device is not only flexible in the direction of its length but is also capable of lateral and longitudinal movement.

In Fig. 4 thezactuating device is applied to'a single truck and consists as shown of twosections 8 articulated at30 to a central support 5. In this form the brackets 9 are hingedly mounted on the truck at 17 in a manner to permit the device to conform more readily to curved portions of the conduit. The modified form is otherwise similar to the preferred construction and its like parts are indicated by numerals which are the same as in the main construction.

I claim 1. A street railway system comprising in combination, a railway vehicle, means for supplying current thereto, a conduit, switching devices interposed in said means .and adapted to be operated from said conduit, and a switch actuating device carriedby said vehicleand projecting into said conduit for operating said switching devices, said actuating device comprising inflexible end sections and an intermediate sectionarticulated, said end sections being mounted on said vehicle, and laterally movable mountings connected with thearticulatedjointsof said end and intermediate sections.

A surfacecontactstreetrailway system comprising in combination, a railway vvehicle, means for supplying current "thereto including surface contacts, a conduit, switching devices interposed in said means and operable from said conduit, a current collector for said vehicle adapted to engage said contacts, and a sectional switch actuating device projecting into said conduit to operate said switches and actuating laterally on and engaging said switches throughout its length, said switchactuating device being movable laterally near its central portion and movable longitudinally at its end portions to compensate for central-lateral movement.

3. A surface contact street railway system comprising in combination, a railway .vehicle, meansfor supplying current thereto including contacts, switching devices interposed in said means, current collectors for said vehicles engaging said contacts,,.a sectional switch actuating device for-actuating said switching devices, means aftordinglateral movement of central portions of said actuating device, and means afiording longitudinal movement of end portions thereof to compensate for resultant shortening caused by such lateral movement.

a. A surface contact street railway system comprising in combination, a railway .vehicle, meansfor supplying current thereto including contacts, switching devices interposed in said means, a current collector for said vehicle engaging said contacts, a sectional switch actuating device for actuating said switching devices, means aflording lateral movement of central portions of said actuating device, and means affording longitudinal movement of end portions thereof to compensatev for resultant-shortening caused by lateral movement of-said device.

5. A surface contact street railway'system comprising in combination, a railway vehicle, means for supplying current thereto including contacts, switching devices interposed in said means, a current collector for said vehicle engaging said contacts, a switch actuating device for actuating said switching devices, means affording lateral movement of central portions of said actuating device, and means afiording longitudinal movement of end portions thereof to compensate for resultant shortening caused by lateral movement of said device.

6. A surface contact street railway system comprising in combination, a railway vehicle, means for supplying current thereto including contacts, switching devices interposed in said means, a current collector for said vehicle engaging said contacts, a switch actuating device for actuating said switching devices, means affording lateral movement of central portions of said actuating device, and means affording longitudinal and lateral movement of end portions of said actuating device.

7. A surface contact street railway system comprising in combination, a railway vehicle, means for supplying current thereto including contacts, switching devices interposed in said means, a current collector for said vehicle engaging said contacts, a switch actuating device for actuating said switching devices, means affording lateral movement of central portions of said actuating device, and means affording longitudinal movement of other portions of said actuat ing device.

8. A non-electrically conducting switch actuating device for railway vehicles comprising in combination, a plurality of jointed sections, supporting means for said sections afi'ording lateral movement of central portions thereof, supporting means for said sections affording longitudinal movement of end portions thereof to compensate for resultant shortening of lateral movement of central portions of said device.

9. A non-electrically conducting switch actuating device for railway vehicles comprising in combination, a sectional switch actuating device, supporting means for said device affording lateral movement of certain portions thereof and yieldingly acting supporting means affording endwise movement of other portions of said device to compensate the same for resultant shortening of lateral movement of said device.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT BROWVN.

lVitnesses ROBERT SIMPSON, JAMES DINNm MoARA. 

